translated from Spanish: Haiti: Prime Minister resigns in midst of political and security crisis

In the early morning of Wednesday, April 14, Haitian Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe reported from his Twitter account his intention to resign from the post of prime minister, which he had held since March 2020.” Tonight I submitted my resignation to the President of the Republic, Jovenel Mose. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister,” the official wrote from his social networks. Chancellor Claude Joseph was appointed the country’s new prime minister in place of Joute, and Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who rules by decree from the absence of an elected Parliament, also reported from his Twitter account.

Moise was confident that change “will solve the blatant problem of insecurity and continue discussions to achieve the necessary consensus towards political and institutional stability.” The president defends his ‘roadmap’ for the transition, according to which on 27 June Haitians are called upon to vote on the draft for a new Constitution that would establish a presidential regime. The project has already sparked protests, as the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) warned either week that “the process is not inclusive, participatory and transparent enough.” Moise also raises presidential and parliamentary elections in September, which will not be attended in principle by the current president.

The scenario takes place within the framework of a growing wave of insecurity for which both organized gangs and radical factions of the security forces themselves are held accountable. On last Sunday seven religious and three other people were abducted in the Croix-des-Bouquets area of the Western department. The attack was attributed to the ‘400 Mawozo’ gang and is estimated to respond to economic targets.” We cannot let bandits murder, rape and kidnap us,” the Haitian Episcopal Conference lamented, in a message that transcended mere condemnation and called on all Catholic institutions, including educational institutions, to close their doors tomorrow as a sign of protest. In the meantime, President Mose is preparing for legislative and presidential elections, a scrutiny that is convened by mid-September and with which officialism seeks to appease the mood for protest encouraged by poverty and the pandemic. 

Original source in Spanish